100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5171

 

Introduced , by Rep. Peter Breen

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
705 ILCS 505/8  from Ch. 37, par. 439.8
705 ILCS 505/24  from Ch. 37, par. 439.24

    Creates the Veterans Home Compensation Act. Provides that a benefit of $100,000 is payable to the surviving spouse or next of kin of a person who: (1) died of pneumonia caused by waterborne bacteria; and (2) was a resident of an Illinois Veterans Home at the time of death. Provides that a claim under the Act shall be filed no more than 5 years after the death of an eligible person. Provides that a claim under the Act must be determined within one year after the application for the claim is filed. Provides that the Attorney General and the Court of Claims may jointly adopt rules and procedures for the implementation of the Act. Provides that the compensation provided for in the Act is in addition to, and not exclusive of, any pension rights, death benefits, or other compensation otherwise payable by law. Amends the Court of Claims Act to grant the court jurisdiction over claims filed under the Veterans Home Compensation Act. Provides that the Court may direct immediate payment of claims pursuant to the Veterans Home Compensation Act. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5171LRB100 17033 HEP 32182 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Veterans Home Compensation Act.
 
6    Section 5. Death benefit.
7    (a) A benefit of $100,000 is payable to the surviving
8spouse or next of kin of a person who:
9        (1) died of pneumonia caused by waterborne bacteria;
10    and
11        (2) was a resident of an Illinois Veterans Home at the
12    time of death.
13    (b) A claim under this Act must be determined within one
14year after the application for the claim is filed.
 
15    Section 10. Limitations period. A claim under this Act
16shall be filed no more than 5 years after the death of an
17eligible person.
 
18    Section 15. Rules. The Attorney General and the Court of
19Claims may jointly adopt rules and procedures for the
20implementation of this Act.
 

 

 

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1    Section 20. Other rights not impaired. The compensation
2provided for in this Act is in addition to, and not exclusive
3of, any pension rights, death benefits, or other compensation
4otherwise payable by law.
 
5    Section 25. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing
6Sections 8 and 24 as follows:
 
7    (705 ILCS 505/8)   (from Ch. 37, par. 439.8)
8    Sec. 8. Court of Claims jurisdiction; deliberation
9periods. The court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear
10and determine the following matters:
11    (a) All claims against the State founded upon any law of
12the State of Illinois or upon any regulation adopted thereunder
13by an executive or administrative officer or agency; provided,
14however, the court shall not have jurisdiction (i) to hear or
15determine claims arising under the Workers' Compensation Act or
16the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, or claims for expenses
17in civil litigation, or (ii) to review administrative decisions
18for which a statute provides that review shall be in the
19circuit or appellate court.
20    (b) All claims against the State founded upon any contract
21entered into with the State of Illinois.
22    (c) All claims against the State for time unjustly served
23in prisons of this State when the person imprisoned received a
24pardon from the governor stating that such pardon is issued on

 

 

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1the ground of innocence of the crime for which he or she was
2imprisoned or he or she received a certificate of innocence
3from the Circuit Court as provided in Section 2-702 of the Code
4of Civil Procedure; provided, the amount of the award is at the
5discretion of the court; and provided, the court shall make no
6award in excess of the following amounts: for imprisonment of 5
7years or less, not more than $85,350; for imprisonment of 14
8years or less but over 5 years, not more than $170,000; for
9imprisonment of over 14 years, not more than $199,150; and
10provided further, the court shall fix attorney's fees not to
11exceed 25% of the award granted. On or after the effective date
12of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the court
13shall annually adjust the maximum awards authorized by this
14subsection (c) to reflect the increase, if any, in the Consumer
15Price Index For All Urban Consumers for the previous calendar
16year, as determined by the United States Department of Labor,
17except that no annual increment may exceed 5%. For the annual
18adjustments, if the Consumer Price Index decreases during a
19calendar year, there shall be no adjustment for that calendar
20year. The transmission by the Prisoner Review Board or the
21clerk of the circuit court of the information described in
22Section 11(b) to the clerk of the Court of Claims is conclusive
23evidence of the validity of the claim. The changes made by this
24amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all claims
25pending on or filed on or after the effective date.
26    (d) All claims against the State for damages in cases

 

 

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1sounding in tort, if a like cause of action would lie against a
2private person or corporation in a civil suit, and all like
3claims sounding in tort against the Medical Center Commission,
4the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board
5of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of
6Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of Trustees of
7Eastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Governors
8State University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State
9University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois
10University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois
11University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois
12University, or the Board of Trustees of the Illinois
13Mathematics and Science Academy; provided, that an award for
14damages in a case sounding in tort, other than certain cases
15involving the operation of a State vehicle described in this
16paragraph, shall not exceed the sum of $100,000 to or for the
17benefit of any claimant. The $100,000 limit prescribed by this
18Section does not apply to an award of damages in any case
19sounding in tort arising out of the operation by a State
20employee of a vehicle owned, leased or controlled by the State.
21The defense that the State or the Medical Center Commission or
22the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board
23of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of
24Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of Trustees of
25Eastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Governors
26State University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State

 

 

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1University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois
2University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois
3University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois
4University, or the Board of Trustees of the Illinois
5Mathematics and Science Academy is not liable for the
6negligence of its officers, agents, and employees in the course
7of their employment is not applicable to the hearing and
8determination of such claims.
9    (e) All claims for recoupment made by the State of Illinois
10against any claimant.
11    (f) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation
12Act. A claim under that Act must be heard and determined within
13one year after the application for that claim is filed with the
14Court as provided in that Act.
15    (g) All claims filed pursuant to the Crime Victims
16Compensation Act.
17    (h) All claims pursuant to the Illinois National
18Guardsman's Compensation Act. A claim under that Act must be
19heard and determined within one year after the application for
20that claim is filed with the Court as provided in that Act.
21    (i) All claims authorized by subsection (a) of Section
2210-55 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for the
23expenses incurred by a party in a contested case on the
24administrative level.
25    (j) All claims filed pursuant to the Veterans Home
26Compensation Act.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; 96-80, eff. 7-27-09.)
 
2    (705 ILCS 505/24)  (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)
3    Sec. 24. Payment of awards.
4    (1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the
5purposes of this Section the Court may direct immediate payment
6of:
7        (a) All claims arising solely as a result of the
8    lapsing of an appropriation out of which the obligation
9    could have been paid.
10        (b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
11    Compensation Act.
12        (c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National
13    Guardsman's and Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act",
14    approved August 12, 1971, as amended.
15        (d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims
16    Compensation Act", approved August 23, 1973, as amended.
17        (e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of
18    the Court is less than $5,000.
19        (f) All claims pursuant to the Veterans Home
20    Compensation Act.
21    (2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated
22from the General Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the
23payment of awards less than $50,000 solely as a result of the
24lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held
25by the State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the

 

 

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1General Revenue Fund, the court shall thereafter seek an
2appropriation from the fund from which the liability originally
3accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.
4    (3) In directing payment of a claim pursuant to the Line of
5Duty Compensation Act, the Court must direct the Comptroller to
6add an interest penalty if payment of a claim is not made
7within 6 months after a claim is filed in accordance with
8Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act and all
9information has been submitted as required under Section 4 of
10the Line of Duty Compensation Act. If payment is not issued
11within the 6-month period, an interest penalty of 1% of the
12amount of the award shall be added for each month or fraction
13thereof after the end of the 6-month period, until final
14payment is made. This interest penalty shall be added
15regardless of whether the payment is not issued within the
166-month period because of the appropriation process, the
17consideration of the matter by the Court, or any other reason.
18    (3.5) The interest penalty payment provided for in
19subsection (3) shall be added to all claims for which benefits
20were not paid as of the effective date of P.A. 95-928. The
21interest penalty shall be calculated starting from the
22effective date of P.A. 95-928, provided that the effective date
23of P.A. 95-928 is at least 6 months after the date on which the
24claim was filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Line of
25Duty Compensation Act. In the event that the date 6 months
26after the date on which the claim was filed is later than the

 

 

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1effective date of P.A. 95-928, the Court shall calculate the
2interest payment penalty starting from the date 6 months after
3the date on which the claim was filed in accordance with
4Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. This subsection
5(3.5) of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is
6declarative of existing law.
7    (3.6) In addition to the interest payments provided for in
8subsections (3) and (3.5), the Court shall direct the
9Comptroller to add a "catch-up" payment to the claims of
10eligible claimants. For the purposes of this subsection (3.6),
11an "eligible claimant" is a claimant whose claim is not paid in
12the year in which it was filed. For purposes of this subsection
13(3.6), "'catch-up' payment" is defined as the difference
14between the amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in
15the year in which the eligible claimant's claim is paid and the
16amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in the year in
17which the eligible claimant filed his or her claim. The
18"catch-up" payment is payable simultaneously with the claim
19award.
20    (4) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the
21purposes of paying claims under paragraph (c) of Section 8, the
22court must direct payment of each claim and the payment must be
23received by the claimant within 60 days after the date that the
24funds are appropriated for that purpose.
25(Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 95-970, eff. 9-22-08;
2696-328, eff. 8-11-09; 96-539, eff. 1-1-10.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.